Athelei spent the next few days sick, but he also felt his body change ever since he put on those beautiful jade earrings. Lisa was actually quite jealous when she saw how nice they were. The asymmetry provided a special vibe to them, and it really suited Athelei's face and aura.
Now that Lisa thought about it, somehow, Athelei was prettier than her. This prompted her in asking, "Hey Orien, why is your hair so long?"
"Long?" Athelei echoed as he combed his hand through his silky black hair. "It reaches my shoulders... It's not as long as yours. My dad also had long hair like a lion."
"Were you trying to copy him?" Lisa asked, "But your hair isn't anything like a lion."
"I... I got it from my mom. My sister was the one who had lion-like hair which she liked to keep short." Athelei answered, feeling his heart throb at the thought of his family. Alice's birthday had already passed and he had celebrated it in the silence of the night.
He missed their voice and it made him tear up slightly.
Lisa noticed this and was flustered, "I-I'm sorry if I reminded you about... what happened."
"It's alright, Lisa. I'm fine." Athelei sniffed as he weakly wiped a tear from his eye, "But yeah... My mom's hair was really straight, and I'm the proof of that. Does it not look good? Should I cut it?"
Lisa was even more flustered, "No! I mean.. no. But, it would be nice if you tied it up. Can I tie your hair? I promise I'll make you look pretty— I mean good! You will look great, Orien, I promise."
Athelei tilted his head, thinking to himself, 'Ah, humans and their gender-based aesthetics... I actually forgot that was a thing. I should really pay attention to the way I look. It should help with Sway.'
"Sure," Athelei smiled after his thoughts. He was still weak so, he would be more than happy to let Lisa fix his hair. She seemed to be well versed in it, after all.
"Yay!" Lisa celebrated, "I'll do my best!"
After an hour of Lisa seeing which hairstyle worked best, as well as a few cuts with her daggers here and there, Athelei's hair was nicely set.
It was a simple ponytail, but the bangs framed his face really nicely. A few braids wrapped around the sides of his head and connected to his ponytail. The braids were like chains of black that kept his hair nice and tidy. His nape was completely exposed to the frosty breeze which gave him some chills though.
Lisa took a few steps back to admire her anime-like work and loved how beautiful the contrast of the White Jade Earrings was to Athelei's silky black hair and obsidian black eyes. It went well with his snowy complexion and red lips.
On top of all these were Athelei's soft and playful facial features. He currently lacked the roughness and sharpness that came with male puberty.
Lisa thought to herself in frustration, 'Why is he so pretty?! No... Why did I make him so pretty?'
"What have I done..." Lisa muttered dryly to herself as she gazed at her beautiful creation with conflicted feelings.
As for Athelei, he nodded. 'Indeed, this is pleasing to the eye. I should visit Virgo's Monasteries one day to learn about keeping up appearances. Sway is the Mystic Pattern I will be most dependent on in Avina... Hopefully, I can use the charming effect instead of the fear-inducing or intimidating effect that I exuded as a consciousness.'
He then slowly looked at his hairstylist and smiled weakly, "Thanks, Lisa."
.
.
.
The journey continued with Lisa covering for Athelei's inability to work. She did his part of their agreement with the merchants that came with their free ride to Avina.
After five days, Athelei's fever finally left him completely. The horrible nightmares and immense weakness that came with being sick had been an experience he found uncomfortable.
"Thank Libra that's all over..." Athelei said a prayer and thought, 'It's all thanks to Lisa's care. I wonder where she learned to deal with a sick person?'
Athelei remembered all that his companion did for him. From the help with food to being there as a shoulder to lean on. And although he could Sleepwalk, Athelei thought that separating his consciousness while he was sick could be a bad idea. Multiple times in the night did he have to be present to control his body, else it would suffer even more.
From fluid intake to the staggered consumption of sustenance, all those required him to be awake and consciously present.
'As for the effects of Rejuvenation's Dissonance...' Athelei touched his earings and recalled his tri-coloured interface after he used Inspect.
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
Orien (Hidden: Athelei, Inactive: Guardian Angel, Angel)
- Race: Human (92%), Starless (2%), Unnamed Mutation (6%)
[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]
'It really did not help me with my fever directly,' Athelei took note of the recent changes as well as his recent actions, 'The Unnamed Mutation originally developed slower than my progression towards Starless. The earrings accelerated the mutation and are still invoking such effects right now. What happens if I have no way to progress my growth into a Starless?'
Athelei pondered over the possibilities for a moment before getting to work.
At first, the kids were going to be simple servants, doing meagre chores, such as fetching water and whatnot while helping the merchants sort their work.
But after seeing Athelei actually provide aid in the midst of a beast attack, as well as Lisa's surprisingly legible handwriting, they were given a higher level of tasks.
Lisa was assigned to the transcription of a variety of topics. It helped that her Nebula Gem was Purple, so her Appraisal's data bank was a great supporting tool. Her duties were more administrative, and she had been fulfilling the expectations set for her. Overall, her performance was satisfactory.
As for Athelei, he was seated on the roof of a carriage. His job was simple: Fight.
The frequency of beast attacks had been growing since they left Aren. The wide and vast plains were home to some of the most iconic beasts as well as the rare monster that roamed them. Athelei had been sick while the hired hands had been fighting Rhi-boars, which were a hybrid between rhinos and boars. The shaking of the earth whenever they attacked had given him waves of headaches each time.
'Their weight class is totally different from the forest beasts, that's for sure.' Athelei thought to himself as he stared out into the distance.
He had spotted a small herd of those Rhi-boars and was expecting a fight.
When the Rhi-boars began their charge, Athelei had already prepared a Hunter pattern. What looked like smoke began to rise from the charging beasts' hooves and the earth was rumbling to every stride they made.
"Intercept them!" A command bellowed and imbued Athelei with morale.
The hired hands had begun their charge as the command came. Even without a leader, they would've reacted the same way due to how deep these strategies were inside their bones. Years had already gone by and the trade route had become their backyard.
Whenever they were fighting beasts like this, they felt at home.
And running into a herd of beasts like the Rhi-boars was a routine. They parried the horns that aimed to skewer them with an efficient transference of force. They dodged, blocked, and struck at the opportunities that were presented to them.
The squads were like liquid, weaving through the charging Rhi-boars as they slashed whatever they deemed important to slash. It was a grand display of familiarity with what they fought.
Athelei allowed his Hunter pattern to enhance his physique as he watched the battle unfold.
'I need to match their rhythm to avoid disrupting their muscle memory.' His eyes shone as he absorbed what lessons he could and recorded the memory in his mind.
The result of the hired hands' interception had jarred the charging boars. A few had buckled under the accurate wounds that they had received, and many had lost their balance and crashed into the earth.
The threatening charge had been neutralised just like that.
"Orien!" A voice yelled out, and Athelei looked at who called him.
It was a man in plate armour with his face covered by a helmet, but Athelei was familiar enough with the man's voice and stature. The man was known as Lykane and was the leader of the hired hands.
"You're free to join! Let loose!" Lykane yelled out a warcry after his words and began rampaging within the injured herd of Rhi-boars.
Athelei sighed in exasperation, 'You guys trust my decision-making abilities too much. What if I had joined your initial charge? At least explain your plans to me if you had already calculated my presence...'
While he was thinking this, his body had already moved. Athelei made sure to zoom past as many dying Rhi-boars as possible to devour their residual consciousnesses.
He also stabbed any living Rhi-boar in vulnerable locations, such as their eyes, joints, and wounds. As long as his blade broke skin, Nerve Disruption would run its course to further hinder the aggressive beasts.
'This feels like... farming crops,' Athelei thought in the midst of the battle in awe.
He was now more familiar with how the caravan's system worked. Ever since they had entered beast territories, nobody ever hunted.
Their food had always served themselves for easy picking. And it was all thanks to the hired hands.